Sweet Protection Supernaut Jacket
Size Tested: Large
Blister’s Measured Weight (size L): ~587 grams
Fit: “Regular Fit” (more on this below)
Materials:
- Membrane: Gore-Tex Pro (3-layer)
- Torso: 150 denier nylon
- Arms and shoulders: 70 denier nylon
Stated Features:
- PULL-PUSH hood cord adjustment
- Removable and tuck away swivel powder skirt with stretch panels
- YKK AquaGuard® Vislon front zipper – tight, durable and easy to operate
- Helmet compatible hood
- Brushed chin flap
- Asymmetric cuffs
- Wrist gaiters
- Hood adjustments
Pockets:
- Two large chest pockets
- Laminated inside audio/phone pocket
- Separate interior phone pocket
- Laminated inside pocket
- Laminated pocket bags
- Left arm key card pocket
MSRP: $699
Reviewers:
Cy Whitling: 6’, 180 lbs
Paul Forward: 6’, 190 lbs
Jonathan Ellsworth: 5’10, 180 lbs
Days Tested: 13
Locations Tested: Porters Ski Area & backcountry, Craigieburn Valley Ski Area & backcountry, Mount Cheeseman Ski Area & backcountry.
Intro
While Sweet Protection is best known for their paddling gear, their Supernaut Jacket is a fully-featured, Gore-Tex Pro shell aimed at resort and backcountry skiing.
We put a combined thirteen days in the Supernaut down in New Zealand, in conditions ranging from sunny spring corn to soggy sleet. And it’s clear that Sweet has put some good thought and a lot of attention to detail into this piece.
Material
The Sweet Protection Supernaut uses Gore-Tex’s Gore Pro shell material. For an in-depth explanation of how Gore Pro works (plus comparisons to other options), check out our Outerwear 101 article.
While its membrane is full Gore Pro, the Supernaut uses 150-denier nylon panels on the arms and shoulders, and 70-denier nylon for the body. This allows Sweet Protection to beef up high-wear areas like the elbows and shoulders without adding too much weight to the jacket.
When skiing and touring, this difference in denier is only minimally noticeable; the arms and shoulders do feel a little thicker and stiffer, but it’s nothing like lighter hybrid pieces (like the Patagonia Reconnaissance jacket) that use both hard and soft shell fabric in different areas.
Fit
Paul, Jonathan, and I wear a size Large in most ski outerwear, including the Supernaut, and we all found the fit to be very good—but not exactly in line with Large shells from most other brands.
The Supernaut’s body and sleeve length were consistent with other brands, but the overall fit of the jacket is slimmer than other freeride-oriented shells like the Arc’teryx Tantalus and Flylow Lab Coat 2.0. Having said that, none of us found the fit to be restricting.
The best fit comparison I’ve found would be to a past Blister favorite, the Lethal Descent 3L Eagle Jacket. The Supernaut is very similar in width to the Eagle, but its sleeves and body are just a touch longer. At a relatively skinny 6’, 180 lbs the Supernaut fit me very well. I had plenty of room to layer up underneath it, but I didn’t end up with extra folds of jacket around my torso when I cinched up the waist or my backpack.
I often run into issues with sleeve and torso length on shells, but the Supernaut’s sleeves are long enough that I never ended up with exposed wrists, and the wrist gaitors kept them in place. The torso is also long enough that I never ran into issues with an exposed lower back, even after some rather … “creative” crashes.
NEXT: Pockets, Vents, and Hood, Other Features, Etc.
I might be mistaken here, but I’m pretty sure the front zipper is molded, not coil.
You’re right, Bjorn – good catch, and we’ve updated.
Sweet! ;) Nice review, and I can’t wait to try my new Supernaut jacket AND pants, which are on the way in the mail. Will you be doing a review of the pants too?
Seems like you demo’d this in conditions when a softshell would work fine. Since it’s a hardshell though, how about an update in wet conditions?
Hey Shawn,
Although I did do some balmy spring touring in this jacket (and all the pictures in the review were taken on nice days), I also skied several pretty terrible resort days in it, as I mentioned in the review. I dealt with some rain, as well as driving sleet, and the jacket did very well. Of course, that’s what you would expect from a Gore Pro hardshell, so I didn’t go too in depth about the waterproofing since we cover much of that in our Outerwear 101 piece. However, I would have no hesitation using this jacket as an everyday inbounds jacket at home in the Pacific Northwest. Hope that helps!
Thanks!